The solid oak statue at the right was inside the 129-year-old Church of the Angels in Pasadena when the church caught fire at 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13. The statue, which is as old as the church, was pulled out by firefighters. The blaze has prompted an arson investigation. Courtesy of Pasadena Fire Department

A 25-year-old man was arrested this week on suspicion of setting fires and committing acts of vandalism at Southern California churches — including those in Pasadena and Boyle Heights, authorities said Saturday.

Christian Michael Garcia was taken into custody by personnel from LAPD Major Crimes Division and the Inter-Agency House of Worship Task Force. Authorities suspect Garcia is responsible for the fire and vandalism at the Church of the Angels in Pasadena and Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, among others.

Garcia was arrested a few hours after the most recent incident Thursday night at the Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, according to authorities.

The suspect was booked at midnight Friday into the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Jail in Van Nuys, according to online records. He is being held on $75,000 bail.

Aside from the Pasadena and Boyle Heights blazes, authorities suspect Garcia was responsible for “multiple other acts of arson and vandalism … at houses of worship in the city and County of Los Angeles over a period of time,” according to a press release by LAFD.

In Pasadena, the fire broke out at 2:20 a.m. Jan. 13 at the Church of the Angels, 1100 N. Ave. 64, according to fire authorities.

About three dozen firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the flame in less than 15 minutes. Authorities soon determined the fire inside was intentionally set inside the church.

Aside from fire and smoke damage, several historic statues were vandalized, Pasadena fire officials have said.

The Boyle Heights blaze, which burned on the first floor, was reported at 2:05 a.m. Jan. 25 at the Resurrection Church in the 3300 block of East Opal Street.

No injuries were reported in that blaze, while two statues outside the church were damaged.

“Arson and vandalism targeting houses of worship is a serious crime and we have zero-tolerance for willful acts of destruction in the City of Los Angeles,” LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement.

“The destruction of a house of worship not only devastates the affected congregation, but affects the entire community,” the statement continued. “We will always investigate and prosecute the serious crime of arson to the fullest extent of the law.”

Olga Grigoryants is a multimedia reporter focusing on urban development, business and culture. She also supports the paper in its watchdog role to hold San Fernando Valley power players accountable and loves digging for public records. After studying writing in Moscow, she moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and has called it home ever since. She earned her master’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and has published articles with Reuters, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Business Journal and LA Weekly. Along the way, she picked up awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. If you want to get on her bright side, she loves a perfect cup of matcha latte.